first completed bow is a broken one...

[Whitehawk23]

ok so i finished my first bow yesterday and broke it today...lesson learned i guess. heres pics if yall have any insight of what went wrong

 

 

[PEARL DRUMS]

Your fades are not long enough. Your profile width reduction at the handle has to be in line with your fades on the belly side of the bow. You eliminated all that support and your bow broke.

[vanillabear?]

[Whitehawk23]

ahhh i see. yeah i wont make a cut in shelf again. thinking about using the floppy rest style next time. thanks guys. looks like ill be back to the drawing board.

[Whitehawk23]

im tryin to stay positive with the broken bow and chalk it up to a learning experience but not gonna lie all that hard work and time and the excitement of finally shooting it is kinda heart breaking. guess thats the price you pay for not backing a bow i reckon.

[Osagetree]

A backing of glass wouldn't have saved the bow.

Like they said, you gotta compensate for cutting out that shelf.

By the way, I want to inform you that it is too late for you,,, you're hooked now and there is no turning back! This won't be you're first & last I'm sure....

[PEARL DRUMS]

Backing had zero to do with your break. You can back that bow and it will break again and again.

[vanillabear?]

[Whitehawk23]

Yeah thanks for the advice guys I'm starting to understand what yall mean by the shelf getting cut in too much its all kinda conning together. I appreciate the advise and complements.

[macbow]

Just to,restate what the others have said. Nothing wrong in cutting in a shelf that far . But there has to be more thickness in the handle in that area which means the fades needed to extend farther.

[Whitehawk23]

Idk really like the cut in shelf design.  So Idk if I should try the ferret style floppy rest

[Eric Krewson]

Like I noticed in you first post your handle is much too short. It should be around 4" long with at least 1 1/2" fades(2" is better) and have them feather into the limbs very gradually like this;

 

[PEARL DRUMS]

Erics pic shows how your width profile and fades have to work together. See how his fade feathers out well beyond the point he narrowed his profile? Thats perfect. His bow narrows and deepens at the same time maintaining its strength.

[b.glass]

Breaking a selfbow is pretty much a rite of passage. The next one will be better. Listen to these guys and you will get it.

[Whitehawk23]

ahhhhhh i see that defiantly puts everything into perspective. i completely understand what i did wrong now. cool, cant wait to get another boeard and try again! thanks for the help guys

[macbow]

Good luck keep at it.

[Roy from Pa]

Justin, ya have any idea how many bows have exploded on me in my 12 years of bow making? LOT'S, LOL.

[Buxndiverdux]

My stack of failures is a lot thicker than my stack of shooters. I've been at it less than a year, but it sure is fun. Keep at it. There is a wealth of knowledge here!

[PEARL DRUMS]

Originally posted by Roy from Pa:
Justin, ya have any idea how many bows have exploded on me in my 12 years of bow making? LOT'S, LOL.

Thats REAL comforting for a guy waitin' on a Roybert's custom bow....whew...cant wait to yank that back!    

             

[DVSHUNTER]

Originally posted by PEARL DRUMS:
 

quote:Originally posted by Roy from Pa:
Justin, ya have any idea how many bows have exploded on me in my 12 years of bow making? LOT'S, LOL.

Thats REAL comforting for a guy waitin' on a Roybert's custom bow....whew...cant wait to yank that back!      
     

Kinda like "hey Ya'll watch this!"

One another note, all the above advice is good. I made a bow with a super cutin shelf like that. I never did like it and hardly ever shoot it anymore. I always like seeing others try it though. Good luck on the next one. And the next one and the next one...